Adjustable harrcv



(No Model.)

W.'BOATNER.

ADJUSTABLE HARROW.

No, 321,676. Patented July 7, 1885.

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\VILLIE BOATNER, OF VVOODVILLE, MISSISSIPPI.

ADJUSTABLE HARROVV.

SPBCIETCATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 321,676, dated July 7,1885.

Application filed September 4, l 'Fl.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIE BOATNER, of W'oodville, in the county ofWilkinson and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Adjustable Harrows, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan View ofone of my improved harrows. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the same, part being broken away.

The object of this invention is to provide barrows constructed in such amanner that they can be readily adjusted narrower or wider, as the workto be done may require.

The invention consists in an adjustable harrow constructed with outerand inner toothed bars, a center bar and its braces hinged to eachother,to adapt the said harrow to be contracted and expanded. The hingedparts of the harrow are supported against the resistance of the soil bya ratchet-bar attached to one of the outer toothed bars and apawlpivoted to the other outer toothed bar. The pawl can be raised fromthe ratchet-bar by a lever pivoted to the center bar of the harrow,toallow the said harrow to be contracted by the resistance of the soil, aswill be hereinafter fully described.

A represents the side or outer bars of the barrow-frame, and B the innerbars. The forward ends of the outer bars,A,are beveled upon their innersides, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, and have iron plates 0attached to their upper and lower sides, the ends of which platesproject in front of the said ends of the bars A. The projecting ends ofthe plates 0 of the two bars overlap each other, and are perforated toreceive the bolt D. The bolt D also passes through the eyes of theclevis E, to which the draft is applied. The forward ends of the innerbars, B, are hinged to the upper sides of the middle parts of the outerbars, A, by bolts F, and the connection is strengthened by the braces G,attached to the lower ends of the. said bolts F and to the ()To model.)

lower sides of the said inner bars, 13. The rear ends of the inner bars,B, are beveled upon their inner sides, are strengthened by plates H,attached to their lower sides, and are hinged by bolts land a yoke, J,or by a U- bolt to each other and to the rear end of the u center bar,K. The forward end of the cent-er bar, K, is kept in position by twobraces, L, the inner ends of which are hinged by a bolt, M, to the saidforward end of the center bar. The outer ends of the braces L are hingedto the side bars, A, a little in front of the outer ends of the innerbars, 13, by bolts N. To the forward part of the center bar, K, areattached the forward ends of the handles 0, the rear parts of which areconnected and held at the proper distance apart by rounds P. The handlesO are supported at the proper height by the braces Q, the upper ends ofwhich are attached to the said handles, and their lower ends areattached to the rear end of the center bar, K.

R is an iron bar, in the inner edge of which are formed ratchet-teeth,and which has its ends bent downward and outward, and perforated toreceive the nails, screws, or bolts by which it is secured to the bar A,so that its toothed middle partwill be raised above the said bar A. Withthe teeth of the ratchet-bar R engages the forward end of the pawl S,the rear end of which is pivoted to the other bar, A. To the middle partof the pawl S is pivoted the forward end of the lever T, which ispivoted to the edge of the center bar, K. To the lever T is attached theforward end of the inclined hand-piece U,whicl1 is connected with therear end of the lever T by a brace, V. The brace V is made of such alength as to raise the handle of the hand-piece U to such aheight thatit can be conveniently reached and operated by the plowman withoutreleasing the handle 0.

If desired, the lever T, hand-piece U, and brace-bar V can be made inone piece by so bending the said lever as to bring its handle intoproper position. The forward end of the lever T is jointed to allow thepawl S to move freely, the said front being so made as to have a lateralbut no vertical play. YVith this construction the harrow can be expandedby raising the rear end of the said harrow by means of the handles 0,and then pushing the center bar, K, forward with the foot until the saidharrow has been expanded to the desired width.

The harrow can be contracted by operating the lever T U V to raise thepawl S above the ratchet-bar R, and then starting the horse forward,when the resistance of the ground will force the bars A inward, the pawlS being lowered into the teeth of the ratchet-bar R when the harrow hasbeen contracted to the desired width.

The bars A and B are provided with harrow-teeth W,which, may be variedin number, as the size of the harrow and the character of the work to bedone may require.

In the case of large harrows a seat for th driver can be attached to thecenter bar, K, the handles 0 being omitted, if desired.

This harrow can also be used as a cultivator, and can be quicklyadjusted or changed without removing the hands from the handles.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. The herein-described harrow, consisting of theouter bars, A, pivoted together at their forward ends, the center bar,K, the inner bars, B, having their outer ends pivoted to the outer barsand their inner ends to the rear end of the center bar, and the bracesL, pivoted to the outer bars and to the forward end of the center bar,as set forth.

2. In an adjustable harrow, the combination, with the hinged toothedbars A B, the center bar, K, and the braces L, of the ratchetbar R andpawl S, substantially as herein shown and described,whereby the saidtoothed bars will be held in place against the resistance of the soil,as set forth.

3. In an adjustable harrow, the combina-' tion, with the hinged toothedbars A B, the center bar, K, the braces L, and the ratchetbar R and pawlS, of the lever T U V, substantially as herein shown and described,whereby the said pawl can be readily raised from the ratchet-bar whenthe harrow is to be contracted, as set forth.

WVILLIE BOATNER.

WVitnesses:

W. WV. LANEIIART, W. H. lVIORGAN.

